Roles and Issues of Carbon Stocks in Forests and Wood

Abstract

Forests greatly contribute to the global carbon balance by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing the carbon. Forests play a significant role in mitigating climate change. Wood harvested from forests also functions as carbon stocks until it burns or biodegrades at the end of its life, impacting on the global carbon cycle. This article provides an overview of the roles of forests and wood in the global carbon cycle, their treatment under the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the carbon stock function of forests and wood in Japan. In addition, the article discusses the perspectives for future research on the carbon balance in forests and wood.